Community based research and evaluation within social regeneration : an exploration of its potential contribution

This thesis explores community based research and evaluation within the social regeneration context of Objective 1, South Yorkshire. This project explores the potential contribution of community based research and evaluation to social regeneration programmes. Community based approaches are assessed in terms of how they provide feedback and their role in capacity building within the Objective 1 Programme. This thesis argues that community based research can contribute to regeneration programmes and is therefore a suitable vehide for use within such contexts. Addressing the experiences and perceptions of participants and stakeholders involved in community based research, this thesis adopted a qualitative approach to explore how such approaches are used and the types of approaches that exist in practice. The study highlights several types of community based research and the dynamics operating to influence such approaches. The barriers that exist within regeneration contexts are examined, alongside the benefits of using such approaches at both the level of the individual and the level of the community. Finally, the linkages between community based research and social capital are explored with particular attention paid to networking. Despite the lack of literature discussing community based research approaches within regeneration contexts, literature from the health, social welfare and evaluation fields is drawn upon to highlight areas for empirical exploration. Key themes derived from the literature are empirically and analyticlly examined within the thesis to answer the five research questions underpinning the study. Community based research is argued to achieve development work goals as well as creating visible local impacts resulting from the interaction of the research and development work. However, there are caveats to the range of benefits described. Therefore, the thesis makes clear policy recommendations in relation to applying community based research within regeneration

Recognising Pupils' Attainment when Using leT

This article deals with two important aspects: assessing pupils' work, and how this might raise new issues when ICT is involved, and reviewing and evaluating the effectiveness of using ICT to achieve learning objectives. Some new techniques will be required to assess pupils' design portfolios and their made products. Designing on screen happens very quickly and little evidence of changes is seen compared with drawing on paper where several copies are kept to show development work. Pupils are able to access designs by others and manipulate them as their own. Teachers have to encourage pupils to develop ways to record their thinking and collect evidence of it. Pupils are also able to make sophisticated products using CAM - the quality of the product looks like one that you might buy in the shop. It is even more important than ever not to assess merely the outcome, but to assess how well this is supported by design thinking

An analysis of differential item functioning by gender in the Learning Disability Screening Questionnaire (LDSQ)

The Learning Disability Screening Questionnaire (LDSQ; McKenzie & Paxton, 2006) was developed as a brief screen for intellectual disability. Although several previous studies have evaluated the LDSQ with respect to its utility as a clinical and research tool, no studies have considered the fairness of the test across males and females. In the current study we, therefore, used a multi-group item response theory approach to assess differential item functioning across gender in a sample of 211 males and 132 females assessed in clinical and forensic settings. Although the test did not show evidence of differential item functioning by gender, it was necessary to exclude one item due to estimation problems and to combine two very highly related items (concerning reading and writing ability) into a single literacy item Thus, in addition to being generally supportive of the utility of the LDSQ, our results also highlight possible areas of weakness in the tool and suggest possible amendments that could be made to test content to improve the test in future revisions

Personality differentiation by cognitive ability:An application of the moderated factor model

The personality differentiation hypothesis holds that at higher levels of intellectual ability, personality structure is more differentiated. We tested differentiation at the primary and global factor levels in the US standardisation sample of the 16PF5 (n = 10,261; 5124 male; mean age = 32.69 years (SD = 12.83 years). We used a novel combined item response theory and moderated factor model approach that overcomes many of the limitations of previous tests. We found moderation of latent factor variances in five of the fifteen primary personality traits of the 16PF. At the domain level, we found no evidence of personality differentiation in Extraversion, Self-Control, or Independence. We found evidence of moderated factor loadings consistent with the personality differentiation for Anxiety, and moderated factor loadings consistent with anti-differentiation for Tough-Mindedness. As differentiation was restricted to a few personality factors with small effect sizes, we conclude that there is only very limited support for the personality differentiation hypothesis

Food after deprivation rewards the earlier eating

Food intake can be increased by learning to anticipate the omission of subsequent meals. We present here a new theory that such anticipatory eating depends on an associative process of instrumental reinforcement by the nutritional repletion that occurs when access to food is restored. Our evidence over the last decade from a smooth-brained omnivore has been that food after deprivation rewards intake even when those reinforced ingestive responses occur long before the physiological signals from renewed assimilation. Effects of food consumed after self-deprivation might therefore reward extra eating in human beings, through brain mechanisms that could operate outside awareness. That would have implications for efforts to reduce body weight. This food reward mechanism could be contributing to the failure of the dietary component of interventions on obesity within controlled trials of the management or prevention of disorders such as hypertension, atherosclerosis and type 2 diabetes

What range of trait levels can the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) measure reliably?:An Item Response Theory Analysis

It has previously been noted that inventories measuring traits that originated in a psychopathological paradigm can often reliably measure only a very narrow range of trait levels that are near and above clinical cutoffs. Much recent work has, however, suggested that autism spectrum disorder traits are on a continuum of severity that extends well into the nonclinical range. This implies a need for inventories that can capture individual differences in autistic traits from very high levels all the way to the opposite end of the continuum. The Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) was developed based on a closely related rationale, but there has, to date, been no direct test of the range of trait levels that the AQ can reliably measure. To assess this, we fit a bifactor item response theory model to the AQ. Results suggested that AQ measures moderately low to moderately high levels of a general autistic trait with good measurement precision. The reliable range of measurement was significantly improved by scoring the instrument using its 4-point response scale, rather than dichotomizing responses. These results support the use of the AQ in nonclinical samples, but suggest that items measuring very low and very high levels of autistic traits would be beneficial additions to the inventory

Validation of a brief measure of aggression for experience sampling research:The Aggression-ES-A

Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) holds significant potential within aggression research. It affords researchers the possibility of collecting data in ecological context, in near real time. However, there is a lack of measures of aggression that have been developed and validated for use in EMA contexts. In this study, we report on the validation of a measure specifically designed to address this need: the Aggression-ES-A. Building on a previous pilot study, we evaluate the within- and between-person reliability, nomological net and associations with a validated trait measure of aggression of the Aggression-ES-A in a sample of N = 255 emerging adults from the Zurich Project on Social Development from Childhood to Adulthood (z-proso). Using multilevel confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling, we found support for the factorial validity, reliability, and concurrent validity of the Aggression-ES-A scores. Results support the use of the Aggression-ES-A in EMA studies utilizing community-ascertained samples